Obama heartens his base

By Tina DauntLos Angeles Times Staff Writer

CAREER disasters (which usually involve some embarrassing bootlegged video or gossip magazine exposé) are commonplace in Tinseltown. If you're lucky, you can redeem yourself by being honest -- and then dazzling audiences with an unexpected Oscar-worthy performance.

"I was getting calls from celebs who were pretty upset and pretty scared," said music industry executive Steven McKeever, who serves on Obama's finance committee. "Major figures in this town were nervous and losing sleep over it."

And then, on Tuesday, their candidate made the speech of a lifetime: He talked about race relations in America in terms never before used by a U.S. presidential candidate. (By Thursday, the speech was viewed more than 1.6 million times on YouTube.)

If Hollywood had a prize for political reinvention, Obama would have won it.

"He spoke from the heart, and it was one of those most remarkable moments you'll remember all your life," McKeever said.

It had all the makings of a Hollywood thriller: disaster, triumph and the promise of a great finale. With everything on the line, Obama went into himself, wrote his own script and penned a comeback. Sort of like Bruce Willis making a great escape from a burning building.

And since Tuesday, McKeever said his phone hasn't stopped ringing. Stevie Wonder, an avid Obama supporter, called, as did a number of other entertainers. "Everyone knew this was a historically significant moment," McKeever said. "I even talked to people who weren't even supporters. They came away with a sense of awe."

Wonder went on his KJLH radio show Thursday morning to make a few statements about his favorite candidate.

He said: "Every communicator -- whether artist, actor, reporter or media -- should use their gift to unite us and not divide us. The reality is, conscious Americans know that Barack Obama is the color of truth."

Entertainment executive Alex Avant, son of Motown great Clarence Avant, said he was also impressed by the senator's words.

"Barack's speech was a beacon of hope that went beyond surface dialogue regarding racial issues," said Avant, a partner in creating the website iamhiphop.com. "What you believe defines the time you're living in. Belief systems have time periods, and he just shattered them."

So in less than a week, the mood among pro-Obama forces in Hollywood went from despair to delight, and that means a reenergized campaign out here.

Expect lots of pro-Obama efforts from the glitterati in the coming weeks. Moveon.org already has a major initiative underway. The group announced last week that it is teaming with Academy Award winners Ben Affleck, Matt Damon and Oliver Stone, multiple Grammy winner John Legend, author Naomi Wolf and others to hold a new ad contest called "Obama in 30 Seconds."

The effort provides a platform for Obama supporters to show in 30-second spots what inspires them about the senator's candidacy. MoveOn will buy time to run the winning ad on national television before Pennsylvania's crucial April 22 primary. Affleck explained the effort this way: "MoveOn's 'Obama in 30 Seconds' ad contest is a chance for everyone, from aspiring filmmakers to armchair pundits, to raise their voices to put Obama over the top and help make history."

Legend called the contest a "powerful way for ordinary citizens to be involved in an extraordinary moment in our history."

Politics Newsletter

The Nov. 2 election results followed a widely expected scenario. Republicans gained control of the House of Representatives, erasing what had been a 77-seat deficit. The GOP also made sizable gains in the Senate but fell short of total control of Capitol Hill.